Page 150 of Protecting Love

The room felt quiet. Almost as if it was closing in on him.

But she took one step forward. Then another.

“You are such an idiot sometimes,” she whispered.

“I’m learning that quickly too. Do you forgive me?” he asked, his lips landing on hers.

“I do. I don’t want what we have to cause fear. Guilt. Confusion. None of those negative things.”

“It’s not always as easy as the words.”

“No, it’s not. But we’re both smart. Both mature. Some more than others.”

“Very funny,” he said, giving her another light kiss.

“It was meant to be. Because those are the things I love about you. About us. Those things that your son witnessed. I want more of it. Lots of it. But I also know the negative will be there, and when it is, we’ll talk it out, right? No running. No hiding under blankets.”

“Blankets?”

“That was me,” she said, smiling.

He knuckled a tear before it ran down the side of her face.

“No more hiding,” he agreed.

He kissed her then. Not desperate, not frantic.

Certain.

And for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t bracing for impact.

He was stepping forward into the flames ready for the warmth with no fear of being burned.

EPILOGUE

Five Months Later

“That was so dope,” Ian said.

He’d heard that more times than he could count since they landed in California via West’s private jet a few days ago.

Rowan Carlisle’s wedding.

Talk about a crazy course in meeting the family.

Every single one of Paris’s siblings was not only at the wedding, but also on the damn jet.

It’d gone to North Carolina Thursday, picked up family there, then came back to New York and took off that Friday with anyone else that flew there if they couldn’t be in North Carolina.

Being stuck in the air outnumbered hadn’t been fun.

Though it wasn’t as horrible as he thought it’d be.

And the fact that her entire family was in one place was why he’d planned this the way he had.

After all, the eyes were on the newly married couple.

“It was a pretty sweet wedding,” he said.